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Russell Kirk and William F. Buckley
Program Video Clip List
Clip # Start Time End Time Description
1 00:24.0 01:47.3 A reading from Kirk's memoir; brief sketch of his writing
2 01:47.4 03:47.7 Why all conservatives point to his influence in establishing a coherent, mainstream tradition that had not existed; provided a usable path and showed how history could contribute to a useful conservative philosophy today
3 05:23.0 09:37.5 Conditions in American after the war; victory was important; concerned with atom bomb; start of Cold War; uneasy time. Three strands of Conservatism arose: libertarian, traditional conservatism and anti-Communist
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4 09:45.0 11:39.8 Description and visuals of Mecosta, MI; Kirk would have embraced some elements of today's liberal movement: environment, historic preservation
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5 11:39.9 12:56.7 Whimsy was important to him; the loss of imagination was distressing; he wrote fairy tales and ghost stories
6 12:56.8 14:18.3 Multiculturalism, diversity
7 14:18.4 16:16.4 Local institutions; he was a justice of the peace; did not think national unit of organization was the way to form moral sensibility
8 16:16.5 17:11.9 Kirk in his own words, describing what it means to be conservative
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9 17:12.0 19:23.1 One caller's impressions of The Conservative Mind; language can be off-putting, but the medium is part of the message
10 19:56.4 22:42.1 T.S. Eliot
11 23:18.0 24:42.1 Introduction of Annette Kirk, his widow; he taught by telling stories, especially historical studies
12 24:47.5 26:38.4 Where would Kirk stand on the conservative spectrum today? Relation to neo-conservatives
13 26:38.5 28:32.2 Explanation of Russell Kirk's six cannons of thought; emphasis on the need for order-an inner order in the souls of people for there to be an outer order; a balance of freedom and order yields justice
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14 28:32.3 31:27.8 Minority rights-he did not see the need for government to legislate civil rights; personally he believed in minority rights; he may have though they were unenforceable; Kirks took in international refugees
15 31:27.9 33:30.3 More on multiculturalism; respect for local customs
16 33:36.4 35:38.2 Annette Kirk and information about his biography; A. Kirk's own work in the conservative movment, she was a "Goldwater Girl"
17 36:07.1 38:10.9 Kirk's and others views of the Declaration as a press release to the French; Annette Kirk adds that you must look at the context of his remarks; he viewed the Constitution as the more thought-out document
18 38:11.1 40:02.6 Milestones in the development of modern conservatism; Kirk on how ideas take hold
19 42:59.0 44:43.7 Tour of the house, discussion of its place during his life; Mecosta today
20 44:43.8 46:32.8 Common ground between his conservatism and classical liberalism; order and community take precedence over freedom and liberty
21 47:56.2 48:56.8 What his criticism about economics might be; infused his views on economics with moral views, i.e. it wasn't always ok to be motivated by profit
22 49:21.3 50:45.2 Discussion of his fiction writing as an expression of his philosophy
23 52:48.1 53:52.9 A fear of big business went along with his fear of big business; southern agrarian movement
24 53:53.0 57:18.0 William Buckley's role in bringing the three strands of conservatism together; clip from interview with Buckley
25 57:23.0 1:02:00 Caller offers opinions about conservative vs. liberal and psychological profiles; one tries to change the world, and one tries to adapt to it; one is optimistic versus pessimistic
26 1:06:35 1:07:30 What distinction would he have drawn between American and French Revolutions? One was conservative and one was liberal
27 1:07:31 1:11:21 Clip of Barry Goldwater in his nomination acceptance speech: "Extremity in the defense of liberty is no vice; moderation in the pusuit justice is no virture"; context for Goldwater and comparison to Kirk
28 1:11:21 1:12:51 Interest in the supernatural-thin membrane between the natural and supernatural
29 1:16:00 1:22:12 Ian Crowe, educator and now researcher at Kirk Institute; conservatism had become weak in Briatin; had not expected to find anything like Kirk's writings in America
30 1:25:33 1:26:34 Significance of Regnery publisher
31 1:26:46 1:29:16 Work of the Russell Kirk Center today
32 1:29:17 1:33:00 His involvement with universities, mentor to young people
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33 1:33:01 1:34:18 Kirk's daughter, Andrea; emphasized her father's ancestral lands and imagination
34 1:34:19 1:36:22 Growing up in the Kirk house; her involvement with the Center and Mecosta
35 1:36:23 1:40:18 Conservatism and Reagan; Kirk would be interested in compassionate conservatism
36 1:40:19 1:41:52 What it means for Andrea Kirk to be conservative
37 1:46:00 1:50:37 Ronald Reagan speaking at the 1964 Convention; more about Kirk's influence on Reagan
38 1:51:58 1:52:50 More on Reagan and George W. Bush
39 1:55:49 1:57:12 Clip of William F. Buckley on Kirk
40 1:57:59 1:58:42 Kirk's gravesite and epitaph
41 1:58:45 2:00:33 Concluding statements on Kirk, his interest in Edmund Burke and our connection to the past, present and future
42 2:01:33 2:02:11 Wiliam F. Buckley on what it means to be a conservative today
43 2:02:12 2:03:30 Different kinds of conservatives have different kinds of perspectives
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44 2:03:30 1:28:21 Differences between liberal and conservative
45 2:05:55 2:10:12 Overview of God and Man at Yale; paradox of University undermining the beliefs of those that backed it: Christians and capitalists; he was 24 when he wrote it; received with disapproval
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46 2:10:13 2:11:10 How the book changed his life-wanted to go to grad school; Korean War, then worked for CIA when book came out; became journalist
47 2:11:11 2:13:59 Founding of the National Review; its audience today; Reagan subscribed when he was a democrat
48 2:14:00 2:15:51 His column "On the Right"
49 2:16:01 2:20:27 "The Firing Line", purpose and format of the show that ran for 35 years
50 2:20:28 2:23:29 Effect of "Firing Line" and National Review
51 2:23:30 2:26:00 Effect of Whittaker Chambers (evolution of policial history)
52 2:26:01 2:27:15 Effect of Joseph McCarthy
53 2:27:16 2:28:53 Robert Taft
54 2:28:53 2:29:57 Eisenhower-no political legacy
55 2:29:58 2:31:08 Nixon and the Hiss case
56 2:31:11 2:33:22 Conservatism and its relation to anti-Communism
57 2:33:22 2:36:59 His attitude toward the 60's and student activists
58 2:37:00 2:39:11 Effect of Barry Goldwater's candidacy
59 2:39:12 2:40:32 Ronald Reagan's speech for Goldwater
60 2:40:33 2:45:09 Conservative perspectives on the social change of the 60's
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61 2:45:09 2:48:50 Richard Nixon's effect on conservatism-shaky; tempered his approach to issues when he felt pressure
62 2:49:40 2:52:09 Russell Kirk's contribution
63 2:52:10 2:56:10 Buckley's relationship with the English language; articulation of ideas
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